Match Game
The long-running game show where celebrities match contestants and vice versa, simply by filling in the blanks. If the contestants do it very well, they win lots of money. Rules for the NBC Version Two teams of three players (consisting of two civilian contestants & one celebrity team captain), competed in this early version which was a game of judgment. Host Rayburn read a question in which the possibilities are endless, plus they weren't restricted to fill-in-the-blank types. All six players wrote down their answers on their cards and raised their hands to indicate that they were done. Each player revealed their answers one player at a time, and their objective was to match their teammates. For each match the team made, they scored 25 points (10 points early in the run). If no match was made whatsoever, Gene reread the question, and the players rewrote their answers (they can be the same or can be different). The first team to reach 100 points (make four matches (10 early in the run)) won $100 and went on to play the Audience Match. MG623.png|Orson Bean vs Jayne Mansfield. MG624.png|The teams writing. MG625.png|Here's an answer from Jayne. MG626.png|Here's a contestant with an answer. MG627.png|MATCH! Audience Match In the Audience Match, the winning team attempted to match members of the previous studio audience. Host Rayburn asked three questions, and on each question, the team gave individual verbal answers that they think was the number one answer (they can agree or disagree on each other's answers). The contestants divide $50 for each player on the team they did give the #1 answer for a maximum of $150, so with three questions, they can win up to $450. MG621.png|Audience Match MG622.png|We Have a Match. The Telephone Match On March 27-31, 1967 "The MATCH Game" welcomes the Telephone Match as being presented by AT&T and where Gene Rayburn talks on the phone to the viewer of the NBC-TV station who watches the show to win the share of the cash jackpot of $500 and Mr. Rayburn reads the question and Rayburn tells the viewer to pick a number from 1 to 100+. As the viewer calls out 1 number with a mock ticket to come to stand ask Johnny Olson (along with sub-Announcers Mel Brandt, Roger Tuttle & Howard Reig) his or her name and the place that he or she lives to write down the answer to the fill-in-the-blank question and after that the caller can answer the fill-in-the-blank question to able enough to match to win and share the jackpot or otherwise it's a mismatch and they lost the jackpot, to which $100 can be added. The record-breaking total is $2600 and after having the mismatch answer, each one of the caller before hangs up & the audience contestant goes home with the Board Game Edition of "The MATCH Game." Pilot The pilot was exactly the same as the series except that the scoring format was different. In the main game, each match was worth 10 points with 50 points (five matches) needed to win. The contestants on the winning team split $100. Each match made in the Audience Match was worth $25 for maximum of $75 on each question. Four questions were asked, so the maximum total was $300. Rules for the CBS & 70's Syndicated Versions Gene Rayburn greets two contestants and several million Americans on Match Game 73-79/PM. Two contestants, including a returning champion, competed. The champion was seated in the upstage (red circle) seat and the challenger was seated in the downstage (green triangle) seat. On Match Game PM and the daily syndicated version, a coin toss was held backstage to determine the positions. The object was to match the answers of as many of the six celebrity panelists as possible on fill-in-the-blank statements. The main game was played in two rounds that labeled "1" & "2". The opponent was given a choice of two statements labeled either "A" or "B". Rayburn then read the statement. While the contestant pondered an answer, the six celebrities wrote their answers on index cards. After they finished, the contestant was polled for an answer. Gene then asked each celebrity — one at a time, beginning with #1 in the upper left hand corner — to respond. While early questions were similar to the NBC version (e.g., "Name a type of muffin" and "Every morning, John puts _________ on his cereal"), the questions quickly became more humorous. Comedy writer Dick DeBartolo, who had participated in the 1960s Match Game, now contributed broader and saucier questions for Gene. Frequently, the statements were written with bawdy, double entendre answers in mind. A classic example: "Did you catch a glimpse of that girl on the corner? She has the world's biggest _________." Frequently, the audience responded appropriately as Gene critiqued the contestant's answer (for the "world's biggest" question, he might show disdain to an answer such as "fingers" or "bag" and compliment an answer such as "rear end" or "boobs", often also commenting on the audience's approving or disapproving response). The audience usually would groan or boo when a contestant gave a bad answer, whereas they would cheer and applaud in approval of a good answer. There were a handful of potential answers that were prohibited, the most notable being any synonym for genitalia. The contestant earned one point for each celebrity who wrote down the same answer (or reasonably similar as determined by the judges; for example, "rear end" could be matched by "bottom", "behind", "derrière", "fannie", "hiney", etc.) up to a maximum of six points for matching everyone. After play was completed on one contestant's question, Gene read the statement on the other card for the opponent and play was identical. Popular questions featured "Dumb Dora" or her male counterpart, "Dumb Donald". These questions would often begin, "Dumb Dora/Donald is/was so dumb..." or "Dumb Dora/Donald is/was REALLY dumb." To this, the audience would respond en masse, "How dumb IS/WAS he/she?" Then Gene would finish the question. Other common subjects of questions were Superman/Lois Lane, King Kong/Fay Wray, panelists on the show (most commonly Brett Somers), politicians, and Howard Cosell. Gene always played the action for laughs, and he frequently tried to read certain questions in character; for example, he would recite questions involving a made-up character named "Old Man Periwinkle", or "102-year-old Mr. Periwinkle", in a weak, quavering voice (he also did Periwinkle's female counterpart, "Old Mrs. Pervis"). Charles Nelson Reilly, who admitted in '77 he was Brett Somers's rival (as they often argued), one of the regular panelists and one who was often involved with directing Broadway plays, would often make remarks regarding Gene's acting such as "I like when you act" and "That was mediocre" when Gene did a voice like this; this tended to draw a big laugh from the audiences. At times, questions would deal with the fictitious (and often sleazy) country of "Nerdo Crombezia". On Match Game PM and the daily syndicated version whichever player was ahead in points after Round 1 always began by choosing a question first in Round 2. This rule ensured that both players would be able to play two meaningful questions. (Without this rule, a player who had only answered one question could be ahead of another player who had played both his/her questions, rendering the final question moot.) Only celebrities that a contestant did not match could play this second round. On the CBS version, challengers always chose a question first in the next round. The second round questions were generally easier and were usually puns that had a "definitive" answer (for instance, "Did you hear about the new religious group of dentists? They call themselves the Holy _____.", where the definitive answer would be "Molars"), whereas the first round usually had a number of possible answers. This was to help trailing contestants pick up points quickly. On Match Game PM, a third round was added after Season One as the games proved to be too short to fill the half-hour. Again, the only celebrities who played were those who did not match that contestant in previous rounds. The player who matched more celebrities at the end of the game is declared the winner. If the players had the same score at the end of "regulation", the scores were reset to 0-0. On PM (or on the syndicated daytime show if time was running short), a time-saving variant of the tie-breaker was used that reversed the game play. The contestants would write their answers first on a card in secret, then the celebrities were canvassed to give their answers. The first celebrity response to match a contestant's answer gave that contestant the victory; if there was still no match (which was rare), the round was replayed with a new question. On the CBS version, the tie-breaker went on until there was a clear winner. If it came to the sudden-death tie-breaker, only the final question (the one that ultimately broke the tie) was kept and aired. The CBS daytime version had returning champions and the show "straddled" – that is, episodes often began and ended with games in progress. On the CBS daytime show, champions could stay until defeated or reached the network's limit of $25,000. Originally, that was the maximum earning for any champion, but the rule was later changed so that while champions were still retired after exceeding the $25,000 limit, they got to keep everything up to $35,000. During the six-year run of Match Game on CBS, only one champion retired undefeated (unfortunately, 1 of the 10 shows off-air did that after the last on-air broadcast of Match Game '79 on Friday April 20, 1979 on CBS-TV). On the daily 1979-82 syndicated version, two contestants would play two games against each other, and then both were retired. The show was timed out so that two new contestants appeared each Monday; this was necessary as the tapes of the show were shipped between stations and the weeks couldn't be aired in any discernible order (a common syndication practice at the time, known as "bicycling"). If a Friday show ran short, audience members sometimes got to play the game; this occurred on only three occasions. Episodes of Match Game PM were self-contained, with two new contestants each week. Brettmatch.jpg|Brett matched the green triangle player. Charlesmatch.jpg|Charles matched the red circle player. Question Podium pilot06.jpg|Pilot Round 1 Image187.jpg|Pilot Round 2 Mgr1.jpg|Round 1 Mgr2.jpg|Round 2 Mgr3.jpg|Round 3 mgtiequestions.jpg|Tie Breaker Contestant Area mg73_contestant.jpg pilot05.jpg Mgcontestantarea1.jpg|From Episode 3, the score is 5-3. Mgcontestantarea2.jpg|It's always cool to see both players match all six celebrities. Notice that the desks are now side by side. Games04d.jpg|A tie score 3-3 from a 1977 episode mgpm_sudden_death.jpg|Sudden Death (Contestant Area #1) Mgcontestantarea3.jpg|This is the look of the contestant area for the rest of the run. mgpmsuddendeath.jpg|Sudden Death (Contestant Area #2) Super Match The winner of the game went on to play the (Big Money) Super Match, which consisted of the Audience Match and the Head-To-Head Match segments, for additional money. On the CBS version, the winner of the game won $100. The Super Match was referred to as the "Jackpot Match" in the 1973 pilot. Audience Match A two to four word fill-in-the-blank phrase was given, and it was up to the contestant to choose the most common response based on a studio audience survey. After consulting with three celebrities on the panel for help, the contestant chose an answer they liked the best, or chose one of their own that they thought of themselves. The answers were then revealed; the most popular answer in the survey was worth $500, the second-most popular $250 and the third-most popular $100. If a contestant failed to match any of the three answers, the bonus round ended. Two Audience Matches were played on Match Game PM. On at least one occasion on Match Game PM, a contestant failed to win any money on either Audience Match; the contestant then got to play a fill-in-the-blank statement with the entire panel for $100 per match ($600 in total) as a consolation prize, or a possible $200 per match ($1200 in total) when the Star Wheel was instituted. This has rarely occurred. MG 02.PNG|The "Jackpot Match" board from Pilot A. pilot10_Jackpot_Match.jpg mgpilot2.jpg pilot11.jpg|The most popular answer to the Jackpot Match was Red White & Blue. mg73_jackpot.jpg Supermatch1.jpg|Here's the Super Match board from the 1st Set. Supermatch2.jpg|What is the most popular answer to this? Supermatch3.jpg|The contestant knew what it was; otherwise, that contestant wouldn't have won $500. Supermatch8.jpg|Here's the Super Match board from the 2nd Set. MGSUPERMATCH.JPG|What is the most popular answer to this one? Head-To-Head Match The contestant then had the opportunity to win an additional cash prize equal to 10 times what he or she won in the Audience Match (therefore, $5000, $2500 or $1000) by matching another fill-in-the-blank response with a celebrity panelist of his or her choice. In order to win the money, the contestant had to match his or her chosen celebrity's response exactly; this meant that multiple forms of the same word, e.g. singular or plural, were usually accepted whereas synonyms were not. If successful, he/she won the extra money (the total prize being $1100/$2750/$5500). Thus, a maximum of $5600 ($100 won for winning the game) could be won on the daytime version per game & Super Match ($10,600 when the Star Wheel was instituted). On Match Game PM, a maximum of $11,000 could be won ($21,000 when the Star Wheel was instituted). The latter has occurred at least twice. Richard Dawson was the most frequently-chosen celebrity in the 1970s version. His knack for matching contestants was so great that producers tried to discourage contestants from repeatedly choosing him, even before the introduction of the Star Wheel; in 1975 a rule was added, stipulating that a returning champion could not choose the same celebrity again for the Head-To-Head Match—this only lasted six weeks. pilot12.jpg|In Pilot A, the score was superimposed due to no toteboard. Supermatch4.jpg|The look of the Head-to-Head Match toteboard from the first three years. This didn't exist during the first month. Supermatch5.jpg|The 2nd look of the Head-to-Head Match toteboard until the institution of the Star Wheel. $5000 is nice... Supermatch6.jpg|...but $10,000 is better! Supermatch7.jpg|Richard certainly didn't "gum" up the works as he matched another happy winner. Star Wheel The "Star Wheel" was introduced in 1978 and was used until the syndicated version ended in 1982. Contestants spun the wheel to determine which celebrity they played with in the Head-To-Head Match, and could double their potential winnings if the wheel landed on an area of gold stars under each celebrity's name (later changed to three individual stars per celebrity to increase the difficulty of obtaining a double). pic1.JPG|The Star Wheel on its first day... pic2.JPG|...and it lands on Richard. pic3.JPG|''"Wait, COME BACK HERE!"'' The wheel was added to prevent people from constantly choosing Richard Dawson, although the first time it was used it landed on Richard nonetheless. This caused the rest of the panel to get up and leave, leading fellow star Charles Nelson Reilly to refer to it on that episode as "the famed and fixed Star Wheel". Also, Mary Wickes blurted out, "Do you know what that wheel cost us? And it's right back to Richard!" MG 01.jpg|Isn't that the way?...Even the wheel wants to stop on Richard Dawson. Starwheel1.jpg|This contestant, however, landed on Dolly Martin. starwheel.jpg|This contestant on the Syndicated Match Game is playing for $10,000 since he landed on a star via Patty Duke Austin. By that time, there are only three stars on each celebrity making it tougher to double the money. Starwheel2.jpg|Here's a big event: this contestant is playing for $20,000 with the help of Brian Patrick Clarke since he landed on a star on Match Game PM. The Set MG 01.PNG|The set from Pilot A. Mg1stset.jpg|The set from the first five years of the aired series. Notice the different contestant podiums. Mg2ndset1a.jpg|The show was approaching the 1980s, so they updated the set in 1978. This is from the first day of it. pic5.JPG Mg2ndset1b.jpg|Gene wanted to see the whole thing, so he went to the edge of the stage to check it, and he was so pleased. pic7.JPG|''"Oh yeah! Very nice!"'' Mg2ndset2.jpg|The set was modified a bit weeks later. Wacky Moments This show is also known for its whack job moments, and here are a few of them. Gene Attacks Several times throughout the course of the series, Gene would playfully attack some members of the crew. One time, when he was attacking the camera, it hit him on the head! Geneattack1.jpg|Here's Gene attacking the cue card guy when he was late telling Gene that it was time for a commercial. geneattack.jpg Geneattack2.jpg|This time Gene is attacking a cameraman. genecamera.jpg Geneattack3.jpg|Here it is again from another angle. School Riot In one episode from 1977, a real out-of-control moment occurred. First of all, one of the rules in the game was that specifics cannot match generics unless otherwise noted; what happened was that some answers were not accepted and it caused a real ruckus. The question in question: "Dumb Dora is so dumb ("HOW DUMB IS SHE?!") she sent her cultured pearls to BLANK." The answer given by the contestant, whose name was Craig, was "School". He managed to match the top tier despite a minor setback involving Charles Nelson Reilly, whose answer was "Scuba Diving School"; the judge buzzed Charles’ answer, but Charles protested and the judge was forced to give the contestant the match. The other answers given by the top tier (Ed Asner & Brett Somers) were the same, "College", but here's where everything went south: Debralee Scott & Richard Dawson each said "Finishing School", but again the judge said no, only this time he did not reverse his decision (Debralee's answer was originally accepted, but was quickly buzzed). This really riled up Debralee & Richard, who then started (you guessed it) a riot. Gene tried everything to regain control but to no avail. With the riot still active, Gene went to Patti Deutsch, the last in line; Patti was super nervous in showing her answer, but she eventually did. Her answer was "Night School"; as Patti feared, it got buzzed, making the riot and the booing larger. When the show came back from a break, Charles was lying on the steps just to reenact the aftermath of the now infamous "School Riot" with Brett showing multiple cards (like she occasionally does) to identify the action. Debralee & Richard never took their cards down. Luckily, even though he lost the game 4-3, Craig was invited back to play in a future game. Here are the pictures of the infamous activity: Angry Gene.jpg|“Now, wait just a second. Would everybody just SHUT UP for a second?!” Gene Yells QUIET!.jpg|“QUIET!” Gene yells as he tries to restore order. Gene Confronts Rich.jpg|Gene confronts Richard. "Put your cards down!" he tells Richard and Debralee Scott. Rotten Spelling On episode #3 of Match Game PM, Joyce Bulifant (even though she matched) mispelled a word; in this case it was the word "stethoscope". Any die-hard Match Game fan knows that spelling does not count whatsoever. Mgrottenspelling1.jpg|This is how Joyce Bulifant spells "stethoscope". Mgrottenspelling2.jpg|"Want to see what rotten spelling looks like?" Slide it, Earl! There are even hilarious moments during the Super Match, mostly involving Audience Match board operator Earl. Mgadmiral1.jpg|If "television" is up there, you're in a heap of trouble. Slide it, Earl! Mgadmiral2.jpg|What?! Mgadmiral3.jpg|"EARL! YOU'RE FIRED! Get your hammer, your nails & your saw,﻿ and get outta here, Earl!" Mgadmiral4.jpg|"Earl...God bless you, my boy." Mgburnsandcuts.jpg|From the "Burns and Cuts" incident. "Earl, are you in there? Now I said it already, slide it! Do as I tell you! I'm the star of this show, Earl. ($100 "Cuts" answer revealed) Thank you. Earl, did you tamper with this board?" Supermatchgene1.jpg|"Earl, are you in there? If this doesn't come out as Gene Rayburn, don't you come out either!" Supermatchgene2.jpg|Well, what do you know? Mgearl.jpg|In case you're wondering, this is what Earl looks like. Star Wheel Premiere, Not too Glorious On the day of the premiere of the then-new Star Wheel, the winning contestant just picked up $250 from the Audience Match and became the first person to spin this new wheel. Supposedly it would give the contestant a chance to match anybody else but Richard Dawson, but guess who the wheel landed on? Pic1.JPG Pic2.JPG Pic3.JPG NOTE: Richard made a Wheel of Fortune reference prior to the spin by saying, "Chuck Woolery comes out and punches you in the mouth." Roller-Rayburn rollergene.jpg|Gene's a little wobbly on those skates! rollergene2.jpg rollergene3.jpg|Whee! rollergene4.jpg|He's rollin around the studio! rollergene5.jpg|Watch out! rollergene6.jpg Cuckoo (BLANK)! On an episode in 1979, after the contestant's Star Wheel landed on Robert Walden, a contestant was given "Cuckoo (BLANK)" and after Robert Walden wrote down his answer, she answered "Cuckoo, Friend and Ollie" and everyone gets hysterical, including Gene losing his cool where he spins the wheel and hits the Super Match board as he yells "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" and Brett says "I QUIT!", and then corrects himself and says, "It's not Cuckoo, Fran and Ollie. It's Kukla, Sam and Irving!" Soon after mentioning that Kukla, Fran and Ollie were on the show, Robert Walden showed his joke answer, "Accordion", but then threw it in the slot before showing his actual answer, "Clock". Cucko_blank_10.JPG Cuckoo_blank_11.JPG Cuckoo_blank_2.JPG cuckoo_blank_3.JPG Cuckoo_blank_4.JPG Cuckoo_blank_5.JPG Cuckoo_blank1.JPG Cuckoo_blank_9.JPG Cuckoo_blank_6.JPG Cuckoo_blank_8.JPG cuckoo_blank_10.JPG Cuckoo_blank_13.JPG Cuckoo_blank_12.JPG Ticket Plugs Match Game was famous for its unusual ticket plugs just as the game itself. A typical ticket plug showed a headshot of a made-up person (in reality, the headshot was a combination of either two celebrities, two contestants, or one celebrity and one contestant) while Johnny Olson announced the ticket information. These type of mixed-face ticket plugs made their debut in June 1975 but became much more common during the daily syndicated version from 1979 to 1982, during which every episode featured a ticket plug. mg80tickets.JPG|Whoa, a quadruple screen! You don't see those that often on Match Game! th_mgticket.jpg|A Typical Match Game ticket plug. mg81tickets.JPG|Whoa, talk about a BIG mouth! Other Moments And here are some more crazy moments uncategorized. Genemic.jpg|One of the unique things about the show is Gene's thin adjustable microphone. Mgjohnnyolsen.jpg|Here's announcer Johnny Olson. He appeared during a question about him, and the answer the contestant and some of the stars gave was his signature line, "COME ON DOWN!", from what else, "The Price is Right"! Charlestheindian.jpg|Remember those pictures of Gene attacking the cameraman? Well, they were in conjunction with this whack job fashion. Charles here wore Gene's tie on his head for the definitive answer he gave. MG 03.PNG|Gene participating in a leg-wrestling demonstration with a contestant. MG 04.PNG|Some self-promotion from Jack Narz. MG 06.PNG|"Fan Mail" day! MG_7.jpg|Fannie is ready MG-Oops!.jpg|Sorry, this is not for children! gene-crash.jpg|WHOA, GENE JUST BROKE THROUGH THE DOOR! I HOPE THE INSURANCE COVERS FOR A NEW DOOR! mggenebreaksdoors.jpg|Gene broke through the door instead of the door opening! CNRShirt.jpg Accordian2.jpg BartHolly.jpg MG 05.PNG|Gene Rayburn is determined to see Bob Barker's "perfect hair" get tussled. Cnrturntablee.jpg|Apparently, Charles got tired of sitting next to Brett, so he sat in the green triangle desk instead. Rules for the ABC Version Gameplay was the same as the 70s version except that contestants now matched the stars for money in the main game as well. Also as before, the champion played red & the challenger played green. Main Game The game was played in two rounds ("1" & "2") just like the 70s version except that the six celebrities played both rounds regardless if they matched in the first round. As before the contestant going first had a choice of two fill-in-the-blank statements (either "A" or "B"). Ross read the statement, and the stars wrote answers on their cards. When they were finished, the contestant gave his/her answer and the panel showed their answers one at a time. Each match was worth $50 to the contestant for a maximum of $300. After one contestant played his/her question, the other contestant played with the question unchosen. Match Game '90 Contestant Area 1.jpg|The Contestant Area Match Game '90 Contestant Area 2.jpg|Here's Ross grabbing a question. Match-Up After each round of classic Match Game, the contestants played a new element to the show called "Match-Up". In the Match-Up round, each contestant chose which star to play with throughout the round. On a contestant's turn, he/she was shown a fill-in-the-blank phrase (ala The Super Match) with two choices on his/her secret screen, the contestant chose the answer he/she thought the star he/she chose will say. The idea for the contestants was to build up their score by matching the selected star as many times as they can within the limit. The first Match-Up lasted for 30 seconds for each contestant with each match being worth $50 and the second Match-Up lasted for 45 seconds with each match being worth $100. Match Game Match Up 2.jpg|Final Match-Up is about to commence. This contestant needs six/to double his score to win the game. Match Game Match Up 1.jpg|Can this celebrity match Joanie's answer? What would you have chosen? The player with the most money at the end of the game, was the winner. If the game ended in a tie, one last fill-in-the-blank phrase was shown to both contestants but with three choices. The champion (the red player) chose an answer first while the challenger (the green player) chose one of the remaining answers. After the choices were made, the last celebrity who played the second Match-Up round made a choice of his/her own. Originally the star had a choice of all three, later he/she had a choice of the chosen two without any knowledge of who chose what. The player with the answer said by that celebrity won an additional $100 and the game. On the first show, the red player chose which contestant should play the final Match-Up question (either himself/herself or his/her opponent). The player chosen selected the answer, then chose which celebrity to match. A successful match won the game for the contestant, but an incorrect answer won the game for the opponent. MG90 Premiere Tiebreaker 1.jpg|The score is tied at $950 apiece! That means it's time for a tiebreaker! MG90 Premiere Tiebreaker 2.jpg|In this tiebreaker, the red player decided to make a choice. Which answer do you think she'll choose? MG90 Premiere Tiebreaker 3.jpg|The red contestant thinks it's "GOLD". MG90 Premiere Tiebreaker 4.jpg|Do you think Charles will say gold? MG90 Premiere Tiebreaker 5.jpg|NO! IT'S NOT A MATCH! THAT MEANS, THE GREEN PLAYER HAS WON THE GAME! MG90 Tiebreaker 3.0 1.jpg|Time for another tiebreaker. We have an evened up score of $800 apiece MG90 Tiebreaker 3.0 2.jpg|In this tiebreaker, each contestant will lock in an answer. Of these three choices, which will they each choose? Which would you choose? Which will the star in control choose? MG90 Tiebreaker 3.0 3.jpg|The answers have been locked! Let's see who'll win! MG90 Tiebreaker 3.0 4.jpg|Who's gonna match? MG90 Tiebreaker 3.0 5.jpg|The man on the right has won! The winning player kept his/her money and went on to play the Super Match for up to $10,000. Super Match Supermatch'90.jpg|Close-up shot of Super Match board Supermatch 90.jpg|The Super Match board The Super Match was the same as the 70s version. When the show started, the payoffs were the same as the 70s version ($500-$250-$100). Later, the bottom two amounts were increased ($500-$300-$200). The star wheel was reinstated, too, except it had a green pointer which spun instead of the entire wheel, and it had two red dots above/below each celebrity's name for double spots. If the contestant bombed out in the Audience Match, the contestant can still win $500 (or $1000 in case of a double) by playing the Head-to-Head Match (later changed to $1000 if a double occurred). Unlike the 70s version, the Head-to-Head prize was not an additional cash prize, but an augmentation to whatever top prize was at stake. Match Game Super Match.jpg|The 1990 Super Match Board Image261.jpg|What is the most popular answer to this one? 200px-MG_02.jpg|The Star Wheel from 1990. This time you spin an arrow, and if it lands on a dot, the value is doubled. File:MG 02.jpg|Here it is again. It was theoretically possible for the pointer to get stuck between celebrity spaces. This version of Match Game died due to the fact that it aired at noon; that time slot was usually standard for newscasts. Pilot Rules The rules are basically the same except the game is played in three rounds with no Match Up Rounds (similar to Match Game PM); plus, the contestants play for points: one point per match in rounds 1 and 2, and 2 points per match in round 3. Also, like the 70's version, the Super Match prize was cumulative (a maximum of $10,500 possible).Match Game 1990 Pilot with Bert Convy, posted to YouTubePilot #5 with Bert Convy, posted to YouTube NOTE: The Head-To-Head Match "Think Music" was a condensed version of the music used for the pricing games: "Check Game", "Make Your Move" and "Cover Up" on The Price is Right. Pics Mg convy.JPG|Whoa, don't get too dizzy Bert! Mg convy1.JPG|The contestants are ready to go! mg_convy4.JPG|Score is 2-1 in favor of the green player so far. MG89 - 12-1.jpg mg_convy2.JPG|Round 1 Card Holder mg_convy5.JPG|Round 2 Card Holder mg_convy6.JPG|Round 3 Card Holder mg_convy_20.JPG|Bert's got a card! mg_convy16.JPG|Super Match Time! mg_convy17.JPG|Can you guys figure this one out? mg_convy18.JPG|Time to spin the Star Wheel! mg_convy19.JPG|IT LANDED ON A DOUBLE! THAT'S WORTH $5000! The "Balls" incident Match_Game_90.jpg|Uh oh, Teri's gonna get it mg_convy_7.JPG|It's too late! She's busted! Bert's gonna have to reveal her answer anyways! mg_convy8.JPG|Well America, there it is! That's what she said! And sorry kids, this answer is a little too much for you! mg_convy9.JPG|I'm not kidding folks! Teri actually said that! mg_convy11.JPG|Thanks for the little tip Charles! Maybe if she didn't know the answer, she should've at least wrote "Pass"! mg_convy10.JPG|Wow, that answer was so hilarious that she fell to both knees! mg_convy13.JPG|One more time, there it is! That's what she said! UNBELIEVEABLE! mg_convy12.JPG|Bert can't believe it! mg_convy15.JPG|Teri can't believe it herself, but she did it! mg_convy14.JPG|Brad can't believe it as well! Rules for the 1998 Syndicated Version Match Game 1998 Set 1.jpg|Set #1 Match Game 1998 Set 2.jpg|Set #2 This version was the same as it has always been except for a few differences: *There were five stars instead of six *Contestants now played for points for each match (1 point in round one, 2 points in round two) but again, all five stars played each round *Instead of choosing A or B, contestants now chose a pun-laden category mgpanel.jpg|The Panel in Season 1 Mgpanel1.JPG|Another look at the Panelist's Area in Season 1 Mgcensored.jpg|Sorry kids, I don't think you would want to see Vicki's answer! Match Game 1998 Pic 10.jpg|The Panel in Season 2 Mgpanel2.jpg|Another view of the Panelist's Area for Season 2 mg988.jpg|Hahahaha, that's a funny answer Vicki! mground2cats.JPG|These categories are hilarious and awesome! Match Game Catagories.jpg|Gotta love these catagories too! Match Game 1998 Scoring.jpg|Contestant Area #1 Match Game 1998 Scoring 2.jpg|Contestant Area #2 The Super Match was played exactly the same even down to its $5000 payoff. Like the 1990 version, the Head-to-Head prize was not an additional cash prize, but an augmentation to whatever top prize was at stake. mgaudience5.JPG|Blank Bush. I'll bet you guys can figure this one out! mghth2.JPG|Head to Head match in 1998. mg9806.jpg|How about Virgin Blank? Can you do that one? mg9807.jpg|Head to Head match in 1999. However, unlike previous incarnations, the celebrity stands at a temporary podium and writes his or her answer down instead of at the desk. Also the contestant and his or her celebrity were allowed to make eye contact during Head-to-Head, which again was never allowed in any of its previous versions. Gameshow Marathon Played exactly like the CBS/PM version during the pre-Star Wheel years, except that the grand prize was worth up to $50,000 for a home viewer. Again, the Head-to-Head prize not an additional cash prize, but an augmentation to whatever top prize was at stake. Unsold & Proposed Pilots 1985 Proposed Pilot Plans were made to re-launch Match Game as a stand-alone series in daily syndication in conjunction with the revival of the nighttime version of The Price is Right hosted by Tom Kennedy. Rayburn was once again to serve as host, but he had already committed to Break the Bank '85 at the time and was unavailable. The project was postponed and reruns from the 1979-1982 daily series aired in its place instead. 1987 Proposed Pilot Rayburn was fired from Break the Bank (3) after 13 weeks and several disputes with the producers, and by late 1986 was once again available. The January 19, 1987 issue of Broadcasting & Cable featured a trade advertisement promoting another five-day-a-week revival attempt in syndication, again with Rayburn as host. The advertisement featured a red-colored version of the 1978-1982 era logo and was promoted as featuring "the biggest names in entertainment" plus "big cash prizes". Coca-Cola Telecommunications was to syndicate the program (see the ad right here in Match Game/Gallery). However, around this time Entertainment Tonight allegedly reported that Rayburn was 70 years old; he was in fact only 69, even though he was still several years older than most producers thought he was. With this, plus his production feuds on Break The Bank and The Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour still relatively recent, the revival project was scrapped. After this incident, Rayburn hosted only one more game show, The Movie Masters, for cable channel AMC which ran from August 2, 1989 to January 19, 1990. Rayburn claims that the leaking of his age subjected to age discrimination for the rest of his life. 1996 Pilot (Match Game 2/MG2) Taped September 1996 for Syndication, hosted by Charlene Tilton. 19961216-2.png 10273201_1533599420200512_219708197623318726_o.jpg The front game was reversed; the panelists ("Downtown" Julie Brown, David Chokachi, Gil Gerard, Rondell Sheridan, Kathleen Kinmont) gave the answers, while the players wrote them down. As on the 1998 version, cutesy named categories were used, rather than "A" and "B". The scoring system was one point per match in the first round and two points per match in the second round. The end game was radically different from any other version. The first half featured the "Panel Poll", where each celebrity was told to pick an answer from a three possible answer multiple choice question about their personality. The contestant then picked one of the answers and received $100 per match. This happened twice. Finally, the usual "Audience Match" was played where the contestant tried to fill in a blank with suggestions from the celebrities. Their dollar amount was doubled from the "Panel Poll" if they matched the third most popular answer, tripled if they matched the second most popular answer and quintupled if they matched the most popular answer. Top prize was $5000. 2004 Pilot (What The Blank!) Taped in May 2004 for FOX to be aired during the Summer 2004 "off" season What the Blank! Hosted by Fred Willard. Whatblank.jpg The version of the game was an incorporation of 21st-Century elements into the classic game as well as an added feature that people from along the streets would be able to participate for matching with contestants and celebrities in Street Smarts-style. FOX abruptly canceled the series before the show made it to air; the status of any episodes produced is unknown. 2008 Pilot Taped July 22, 2008 for TBS. Hosted by Andy Daly. Panelists were Bob Einstein as Super Dave Osborne, Sarah Silverman, Scott Thompson, Rashida Jones, Norm McDonald and Niecy Nash. While the front game retained the '73-'82 format, the end game was revamped. Against a 30 second time limit, the player heard five statements with a blank (e.g.: "Hillary Clinton is a ______"). The contestant's job is to fill the blank with the most popular answer. After the clock stops, the contestant is allowed to change two of them with the help of the celebrities (they only call on one, but helping is encouraged). For each correct guess of the popular answer, $1,000 is awarded. Then comes the standard Head-to-Head for double the money, up to $10,000. Match Game '08 1.jpg Match Game '08 2.jpg Match Game '08 3.jpg Match Game '08 4.jpg Match Game '08 5.jpg 980941_1524633654430422_91070303528292801_o.jpg 1980148_1524633734430414_3024557234829577973_o.jpg 1960949_1524633787763742_1416694446119495064_o.jpg 10258419_1524633684430419_8780513574369370082_o.jpg Match Game in Popular Culture Match Game was depicted in a 2012 episode of the Nickelodeon sitcom Victorious called “April Fools Blank”. Here, it was called Match Play. The title character Tori Vega (Victoria Justice) ran onto the set of this parodied game show to which Sikowitz (Eric Lange) was the host and Tori's friends was the panel. Like Match Game the host read a statement with a blank at the end or near the end and the contestant must then fill in that blank with a word or phrase he/she thought any of the celebrities would say. If the contestant's answer matched any of the panelists, he/she won $5000. However, each time there was no match, the Dancing Lobster appeared and attacked the contestant down to the ground. On this playing, the question was: "Dumb Debbie (as opposed to Dumb Dora) was so dumb (HOW DUMB WAS SHE?!) she didn't realize April First was April Fools __________." Tori's answer was "Day" (the obvious one), but due to the crazy nature of that episode, none of the panelists said “Day”, causing Tori to be attacked by the lobster all six times minus two (explanation later) and losing $5000 because of it. The answers the panel gave were as follows: *Andre (Leon Thomas III): "Lobster" *Jade (Elizabeth Gillies): "Berry" *Robbie (Matt Bennett): "Foot" *Cat (Ariana Grande): "Blank" (The Dancing Lobster was not brought out for that, because Cat misunderstood the question.) *Beck (Avan Jogia): "Onion Rings" *Trina (Daniella Monet): "Cut to the Next Scene" (Which in advertising sent Tori & Trina to their living room for the next scene and the remainder of the episode) In the 1994 episode of The Simpsons called Bart Gets Famous, it is implied that the set of Match Game 2034 would be similar to the post-modern atmosphere of The Jetsons. The panelists that appeared on the episode were Billy Cyrstal, Farrah Fawcett-Majors-O'Neil-Varney, The I Didn't Do It Boy, ventriloquist Loni Anderson, Spike Lee and the lovely and vivacious head of Kitty Carlisle. (NOTE: This also was a reference to Marcia Wallace, who was a semi-regular on the 1970's Rayburn version of Match Game.) In the 2010 episode called Elementary School Musical, Bart and Homer search for evidence on the Internet that can release Krusty the Clown from the International Court of Justice. They find a clip on Mytube (obviously a parody of Youtube) of him appearing on Match Game PM where he confesses to "self-mutilation". In the 2001 Family Guy episode called Mr. Saturday Knight, Chris is seen watching reruns of Match Game with Gene Rayburn reading a question to the panel: Forgetful Freddy was so forgetful, every time he tried to remember someone's name he drew a _____. Homestar Runner referenced Match Game not once but twice: the first was in the 2003 episode called Email The Show, used as a commercial bumper music is partially lifted from the show's theme music, and in the 2006 episode called Email 4 branches, where The Show was renamed to The Show AM alluding to Match Game's rebranded title as Match Game PM. Saturday Night Live referenced Match Game in a parody of Inside The Actor's Studio, featuring Alec Baldwin as Charles Nelson Reilly. In 2001, Will Ferrell as James Lipton raves about the show in flowery terms, making up a word scrumtrilescent to describe its brilliance.SNL "INSIDE THE ACTOR'S STUDIO" Skit on HULU On a later episode, the show was parodied as a faux-70's show called It's A Match. ''In the skit, the game wasn't played because the host had been murdered, and a detective came out instead to question the panel about their whereabouts. In true fashion, the panel responded by writing their answers on the response cards and revealing them as called on.SNL "IT'S A MATCH" Skit on YAHOO SCREEN An episode of ''Will & Grace showed the main characters watching eight back-to-back episodes of Match Game '73 with Karen Walker (played by Megan Mullally) humming the theme song and remarking how she loved the Game Show Network. Mystery Science Theater 3000 made references to the show while watching movie segments and in one of the sketches, Crow T. Robot does a one-man show (Give 'em Hell Blank) about Match Game, playing as Gene Rayburn as well as all six of the panelists including Nipsey Russell and Charles Nelson Reilly. He closes with an unusually somber monologue (as Rayburn) about growing old. In January 2001, TV Guide listed Match Game as #10 as one of The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All-Time. In December 2005, TV Guide and TV Land joined forces and created a television special which counted down a list of the 100 most unexpected TV moments. Match Game '77 “School Riot” episode is one of them, in which Debralee Scott and Richard Dawson revolt when the judges did not accept “Finishing School” as a match for “School” was ranked as #82 on the list. In 2006, GSN ranked Match Game #1 as one of The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time, the special series itself was hosted by Bil Dwyer. In July 2006, it was mentioned as a topic in VH1's nostalgic miniseries I Love The 70's Volume II’s 1973 episode. Match Game is a recurring segment on radio programs such as The Don and Mike Show and The Dan Patrick Show, as well as on local morning shows across the country. Vicki Lawrence has made multiple appearances on Match Game. She was in the pilot and she also made an appearance when The Carol Burnett Show cast made a visit to the show. She was also a semi-regular on the 1990's ABC, 1998 Syndicated and 2003 WMS Gaming slot machine versions. A modified version of Match Game would occasionally be played on MTV's Remote Control. Host Ken Ober's questions would generally be raunchier than Match Game standards, and the contestants scored points for matching either co-hosts Colin Quinn, Kari Wuhrer or musician Steve Treccase. In 2006, GSN listed Match Game #1 of The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All-Time. The special was hosted by Bil Dwyer. Match Game was referenced once on The Price is Right as one of their Showcase themes.The Price is Right Match Game themed Showcase Match Game is mentioned numerous times in Charles Nelson Reilly's 2006 documentary film The Life of Reilly. The reality series RuPaul's Drag Race has played a version of Match Game, called "Snatch Game", since season two. The queens imitate their favorite celebrities and sit on the panel, while two celebrity contestants, usually the special guest judges for that episode, try to fill in the blanks and match the queens. International versions Australia Several versions were made in Australia. The original 1960s The Match Game was imitated with the same name and hosted by Michael McCarthy. The second, more commonly-known version was Blankety Blanks and based upon the 1970s version, running from 1977 to 1978. It was presented by Graham Kennedy and became a ratings hit for Network Ten. Like many Australian game shows during the 1970s–1990s (mostly those done by Reg Grundy) this version was remarkably similar to the American show right down to the set, "spinning box" opening, and "Get ready to match the stars!" tagline. The signature music from the American version was not used, however, but was instead replaced by original tracks that were very similar. A later version appeared on the Nine Network in 1985 hosted by Daryl Somers, and again in 1996 hosted by Shane Bourne. (This show is not to be confused with an unrelated American show by the same name, which aired on ABC and was hosted by Bill Cullen in 1975.) Canada Prior to "Atomes Crochus", An original short-lived Francophone version ran on TVA from 1976 to 1978, called L'union fait la farce. originally hosted by Serge Belair followed by Raymond Lemay later in its run. Its set was very similar to the '73-'78 U.S. version. Montréal-based Zone3, in association with rights holder RTL, launched a Francophone version, Atomes Crochus. in 2010 on V (formerly TQS).Official Atomes Crochus Site The host of the show is Alexandre Barrette, and the show features regular guests as did the original Match Game. Among the most regular of the guests are Alex Perron (formerly of the Quebec comedy troupe Les Mecs Comiques), and Tammy Verge. The format of the program more closely matched the Ross Shafer version, including a round similar to the Match Up round. Scoring was different (in the main game, matches in round one were worth 25 points and worth 50 points in round two; the Match Up round matches were also worth 50 points). The Super Match and Star Wheel rounds were also played in similar fashion as on the American version, except instead of the Head-to-Head being played for ten times the money earned in the Audience Match, the Audience Match instead determines how much the Head-to-Head is worth, either $1,000, $1,500, or $2,000, with the player playing for $500 if he loses the Audience Match. As before, the Star Wheel possibly doubles the amount played for, thus making a top prize of $4,000. On June 28, 2012, CTV's '' The Comedy Network'' announced Zone3 and RTL would now produce 60 episodes of an English-language version, Match Game Canada, on the Atomes Crochus set in Montréal over the summer for broadcast.Holy Blank! Canada’s The Comedy Network Orders English-Language Revival of Classic Game Show MATCH GAME It premiered on October 15, 2012, with host Darrin RoseMatch Game @ Bell Media and regulars Debra DiGiovanni and Seán Cullen.Match Batch: Panelists announced for The Comedy Network’s Match Game All matches in the main game were worth 50 points and the winner received his/her winning score in dollars. Season 2 premiered on September 3, 2013. Changes include Round 2 matches being worth 100 points, and the Super Match top prize increasing to $5,000 ($2500/$2000/$1500 in the Audience Match, $1000 for no match). France The French version is called Les Bons Genies (Good Genies) hosted by Patrice Laffont ran on France 2 for a brief period in 1996. even though the format plays closely to the short-lived 1990-1991 U.S. version, the main game was played in three rounds. Germany The original version was called Schnickschnack (Bells and Whistles, since they don't have a German version for the word "blank") hosted by Klaus Wildbolz aired on ARD from 1975 to 1977. their format was mostly based on the 1973-1982 U.S. version. Additionally, this version was briefly mentioned by Gene Rayburn in a episode of Match Game '75 and its title was used during one of the main rounds as well (see Match Game/Video Gallery for that clip in particular). Fourteen years later, the show was revived under the name Punkt, Punkt, Punkt (Dot, Dot, Dot) with Mike Kreuger as host for which it ran on two different networks, originally on ARD (the same network where Schnickschnack was aired) in 1991 then on Sat.1 from 1992 to 1994. and like other previous international versions in France and Canada, the format plays very similar to the 1990-1991 U.S. version. Japan The Japanese Version is called Ai ai gemu (Ai Ai Game) hosted by Shingo Yamashiro aired on Fuji TV from 1979 until 1985. Mexico The Mexican version is called Espacio en Blanco (White Space) hosted by Mauricio Barcelata aired on Televisa for a brief period in 2006 for fourty episodes only. Netherlands A Holland version aired in the mid 90's with the same title as in the UK version. Turkey A Turkish version aired in the early 90's on Show TV, with Mehmet Ali Erbil as host. United Kingdom A long-running and mostly well-known successful version aired in the U.K. under the name Blankety Blank, originally on BBC1; the show was hosted by Terry Wogan from 1979 to 1983 followed by Les Dawson (no relation to the late Richard Dawson) from 1983 to 1990, and lastly, Lily Savage (a.k.a Paul O'Grady) from 1997 to 1999. Then in 2001, when the show moved to ITV1, the title of the show changed to Lily Savage's Blankety Blank where once again it was hosted by Lily Savage from 2001 to 2002. Galleries To see pictures of the various Match Game logos over the years click here. To see press photos, pictures & drawings of the Match Game, click here. To watch videos of Match Game click here. Merchandise Main Article: Match Game/Merchandise Additional Page Match Game/Quotes & Catchphrases Rating Music 1962 (pilot) - "A Swingin' Safari" by Billy Vaughn 1962-1967 - "A Swingin' Safari" by Bert Kaempfert 1967-1969 - "Sewing in Fashion" by Score Productions 1973-1982, 2006 & 2008 Pilot - "The Midnight Four" by Ken Bichel, Ray Crisara, Herb Harris, Jay Leonhart, Mike Redding & Lou Volpe along with Robert Israel of Score Productions, Inc. 1990-1991 - Ken Bichel for Score Productions, based on "The Midnight Four" 1998-1999 - Score Productions, similar to "Midnight Four" but slightly different. Two unused think cues from the 1974 version of TattleTales were recycled into Match Game 73-79/PM. The main think cue from Match Game 73-79/PM was recycled for use as the main think cue during the first half of the 1998 revival. Halfway through this new song, it switched from the original melody to a new one based on the show's then-theme. The Main from Match Game 73-79/PM is used as a showcase cue on The Price is Right during the Carey years and again as the closing theme on the April Fools' Day show in 2009. The think cue from Match Game 73-79/PM was used in the April Fools' Day 2009 show on The Price is Right for games that require thinking such as Push Over and Cover Up instead of their respective cues. Inventors Mark Goodson & Bill Todman Spin-Offs Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour—A short-lived hour-long combination show that aired on NBC from 1983 to 1984. The Real Match Game Story:Behind The Blank—A "behind-the-scenes" documentary of the populary 1970's "Fill-in-the-blank" game show that aired on GSN in 2006. Gameshow Marathon—Match Game was one of the shows on this CBS special in 2006. References Links The Match Game Website The Match Game Homepage Match Game @ Game Show '75 The Match Game Wallpaper Factory (Old) The Match Game Wallpaper Factory (New) Mandel Illegan's Match Game '98 Experience Rules of the last two versions of Match Game Josh Rebich's Match Game Rule Sheets part of his Match Game/Hollywood Squares Page Official Pearson website for Match Game ('98-'99 Burger era) courtesy of the Internet Archive Game Show Utopia Match Game (60s Version) Match Game 70s CBS Version Match Game PM Syndicated Version YouTube Videos Match Game '73 Pilot "B" Clip Match Game '90 Pilot Intro A rare Match Game pitchfilm from 1998 Clips from the 2008 Pilot Category:Matching Category:Surveys Category:Panel Game Category:Celebrity Category:Comedy Category:Syndicated shows Category:NBC shows Category:CBS shows Category:ABC shows Category:Primetime shows Category:Daytime shows Category:Network daytime shows Category:Network shows Category:Goodson-Todman Productions Category:Long-Running Category:Revivals Category:1962 premieres Category:1969 endings Category:1973 premieres Category:1982 endings Category:1990 premieres Category:1991 endings Category:1998 premieres Category:1999 endings